Notes from the Road
I spent my teenage years on a golf course. A friend took me out on the course when I was 10, and I was hooked. I bought a set of Chi Chi Rodriguez junior golf clubs for $60 and I was golden. The set only had five clubs, a driver, a putter, and three irons, and that was enough. I caddied in tournaments to learn the game. When I outgrew my set of junior clubs, my uncle gave me an old set of adult clubs with a driver, fairway woods, and all the irons from 3 to 9 along with a pitching and sand wedge. Now I had options in my game. I was tremendously patient, disciplined, and focused when it came to golf. I was chosen along with only two other kids in our local club to attend a camp with nationally renowned golf pros where we competed with some of the best players on the east coast and honed our game. It was a privilege I did not squander. I learned how to hit further with more precision. Though I lacked power at that age, I acquired much control and precision and had a great “short” game—that is, I was very efficient within 175 yards of the hole.
At 16, a friend of the family introduced me to my mixers partner: A six-foot-five hippy, who did not look the part. We were not a very conventional team in this very formal game. Together we would roll into tournaments in his Camaro and roll out just as quickly. He could drive the ball off the tee, what seemed a million miles away. However, he was not always precise, and he did not have a good short game. What he lacked in precision I had and what I lacked in power and distance he had. Each of us good, neither great, but together we excelled. We won many tournaments together. He would hit far, and I would bring it home quickly, wherever the ball landed.
That was long ago when Tom Watson was leading the game. I do not play often anymore, but I still enjoy every game I play. I have a huge appreciation for a sport that requires skills, patience, and precision as much as it requires both boldness and humility.
